Looking at the starting lineups just posted today by IHSA and the one thing that stands out is the mammoth JC offensive line and backfield against the undersized SHG defense. In fact, SHG only has one d lineman at 220 and one LB at at 205 with the other 9 defensive starters all under 200.
Of course this doesn’t mean much of anything in terms of what each team is capable of, but it will certainly play into the schemes each team tries to employ. Rochester ran Rita off the field a few years ago and they had an undersized defense. Of course, Rochester had 3 DL in the mid 200s and Rita wasn’t nearly as big as this JC front, so it wasn’t quite as much of a size disparity. But they did have a few linebackers under 160 and they still had no real trouble containing a bigger Rita attack.
At the end of the day, a Leonard coached team will find a way to give their opponent fits. They have a history of entering the title game as an underdog and running a team like Montini who probably had more talent off the field. Should be a good one.
